


Saving the World is Not A Choice

by MonstrousDayDream



Category: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: And Henry still finds his way to Regina as a baby, But now Emma has a whole new reseaon to stay and not yet believe, Lily is still a betrayer, Neal is still Henry's father
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-05-11
Packaged: 2018-05-22 13:29:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6081186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonstrousDayDream/pseuds/MonstrousDayDream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before Emma was the Savior, she was a Power Ranger. Before Lily was a dragon, she fought alongside Emma. </p><p>Saving the world changes people, and while the choices made can't change fate, it will change them. </p><p>Based on a tumblr prompt about mashing together first and latest fandoms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's Morphin' Time

**Author's Note:**

> This is not a fully formed idea, but it could be if anyone wants to see how Emma Swan, Power Ranger, reacts to everything that happens in Storybrooke. 
> 
> I've made changes to the Power Ranger team to serve my own OC/self insertion, but the story will follow through Mighty Morphin' to In Space.

Emma looked down at the Morpher and stared at the extinct cat on the coin. Sabertooth Tiger. The image almost looked ready to jump out and come to life. She supposed that made sense; she had felt powerful and fierce and able to take on the Putties and Goldar with no problem. Like the Tiger was inside her. Weird, but awesome. 

She was a fucking superhero. 

There was a knock on the door and she looked up to see their supposed leader, Jackie. “Food’s ready, if you wanna eat.”

Emma stood up from the bed. “Starved. Is it any good?”

“Zach made pizza, Jason managed fried chicken.” She shrugged. “We’ll get a full belly.”

Emma followed the other teenager down the hall and into the kitchen. In exchange for being superheroes, they got to live in the Command Center. Emma figured it was better than bouncing from house to house, though she was pretty sure Jason had been a runaway for months. The kitchen smelled great, and Billy was finishing up making a bunch of fruit juices. The kitchen was fully stocked, but they had to make everything. Emma still wasn’t sure how that would turn out with a bunch of teenagers, but she doubted Zordon and Alpha would let them get food poisoning. Probably.

The five of them filled their plates and sat at the table. A bunch of fifteen year olds asked to save the world. Emma was pretty sure they were doomed.


	2. Green With Evil

It wasn’t long at all until Rita Repulsa enslaved an Evil Power Ranger. The Green Ranger was a fast fighter, and Emma would’ve rather fought Goldar. She could always see his sword coming, as opposed to the whip fast fists of the Evil Ranger. Fortunately for her, Jason’s size and Jackie’s role as leader made them the targets for Green Ranger. Emma was perfectly fine with throwing Putties into Goldar’s path.

But while the Green Ranger was out to kill them, Zordon only spoke of breaking the spell and saving the Evil Ranger. Which meant Jason and Jackie had to exert more control than usual. Emma found herself picking up the slack of teaching Billy how to fight when the Red and Purple Rangers were too exhausted and beat up. Thing was, Emma didn’t know martial arts, and really just threw punches at Billy until he learned how to block and get out of the way. It worked. 

After almost a month of barely winning against the Evil Ranger, Jackie laid out a plan as they ate dinner.

“We know Rita’s enslavement spell is tied in with that wicked looking sword she keeps trying to gut us with. We know we need to destroy that in order to free her. So. Next fight? Ignore everything else. Putties and the monster of the week can wait, we know we’ll beat those. If we all attack the Green Ranger at the same time, we can get that sword away from her and destroy it.”

“And if one of us actually does end up gutted?” Zack asked.

“Then you get to take a break from saving the world while your guts heal.” 

“One of us really should keep an eye on the monster,” Billy said.

Jackie rolled her eyes. “Fine. Distract with everything you got.”

So Emma was right behind Jackie when they charged the Green Ranger. Jason and Zack were coming form behind, and Billy was distracting the Putties and monster. So long as Goldar didn’t join the fight, Billy would be able to handle being monster bait. Emma was right there to throw a punch while Jason tried to kick the Green Ranger’s legs out. Jackie used her blade blaster to block the Dark Sword from coming down on Zack’s neck. Emma moved around the Green Ranger and latched onto her arms, pinning them down, and Jason joined her. It was a pathetic, childish move, but it worked for just long enough to allow Jackie the chance at getting the Sword out of the Green Ranger’s hands.

The moment it was destroyed, the Green Ranger uniform vanished. The brunette girl was no older than them. She looked shocked, then scared shitless at being surrounded by the people she’d been trying to kill. Jackie held out her hand and said, “I’m Jackie. We don’t blame you for what you did. Wanna get revenge on Rita?”

There was something in those brown eyes that made Emma wonder just how much evil was already there before Rita. “I’m Lily, and hell, yes.”


	3. Ninjetti

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I stole lines from the movie. And spirit animals. Pitch better animals and I may edit and credit.

“A loyal leader, Jackie, you are the wolf.” 

“Jason, powerful, smart, you are the ape.”

“Emma, you are the bear, fierce and unstoppable.”

“You, Lily, are the falcon, winged lord of the skies.”

“Zack, what’s wrong?”

“I’m a frog.”

“Yes, a frog. Like the one you kiss to get a handsome prince.” Dulcea stepped in front of the last of their group. “Billy, the wisdom of the ancient crane will guide you.”

Emma could handle being a bear. The golden crest on her chest looked like a grizzly, which was so very awesome. As they headed down into the jungle, Lily started to tease Jackie about being the one with a flying Zord now. Jackie moaned about losing her flying dragon, as well as swore the fires of the nine hells onto Ivan Ooze. Zack congratulated Billy on joining the pilots, even if the other teen was a little hesitant.

By the time high noon had reached the Neola Jungle, Lily had noticed something strange. “Why aren't we hungry? Or thirsty? We’ve been hiking since dawn and I’m not tired.”

Emma frowned. “Yeah, neither am I.”

“There has to be some kind of power in us,” Jackie said. “We’re in uniform, we’re never affected by that kind of stuff while morphed.”

“But we don’t have powers,” Billy insisted.

“We don’t have strong powers,” Jason said, continuing along the path of least resistance through the trees. “We have enough to bring our spirit animals forward. That has to count for something.”

Zack clapped Lily on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. After we find powers, stop Ivan, and save Zordon, you’ll be starving.” They stepped into a clearing and he whistled. “Welcome to Jurassic Park.”

Lily snorted. “Very funny, Zack.”

Then, of course, the massive dinosaur skeletons came to life. Emma and Lily managed to make one run into a tree and shatter back into a pile of bones. Billy yelled directions at Jason to get a neck bone loose. Jackie and Zack made their pursuers crash into each other. Panting, they looked at each other and grinned. 

“So,” Jackie said as she led the way. “One test down, two to go.”

“You sound sure,” Lily said.

“There’s always three tests.” Which she had to detract once they got their powers after defeating the gargoyles. Which caused an argument while they dealt with the Ectomophicons.

“Can we call the Jungle a test in itself and focus on fighting a giant metal ooze monster?!” Jason demanded.

White and Red Ranger looked at each other, shrugged, and nodded. “Yeah. Sure.”

And maybe it was Jason’s idea to knee Ooze into the comet. And maybe they all just decided not to bring up the fact he had lost his cool when his teammates could stop arguing at the drop of a hat. Besides, they had to save Zordon.  
+  
That night, after the pizza party, after they congratulated themselves, after the others had gone to bed, Emma snuck into the main chamber and sat behind Zordon’s time warp. She wrapped her comforter around her and leaned back against the metal, taking comfort in the warm hum. Zordon and Alpha said nothing. 

Because Zordon had died. Zordon had been dead. And maybe he asked her to fight a war, maybe he gave her powers that weren’t always reliable, maybe they were gonna die before they stopped Rita and Zedd. But Zordon had given them a home. They were safe here, they had a purpose. There was a soft bed and warm food and a bunch of crazy teammates who were her friends. If she lost that? If they lost all of this? 

“Stop thinking like that.”

Emma startled. She opened her eyes to see Lily, her own blanket in hand. The White Ranger sat down next to her and rested her head on Emma’s shoulder. “We’re all alive, we have kick ass powers, and if Rita and Zedd can’t kill a bunch of teenagers in a week, they aren’t going to win.”

“But we haven’t beat them, either.”

“That’s because we can’t nuke the Moon base without risking something Billy could explain better than me. I’m exhausted. Shut up and go to sleep.”

Emma rolled her eyes. She hadn’t been the one talking. But she leaned her head against Lily’s and closed her eyes. Yeah. Okay. Maybe they did have a chance.

And when Emma woke up, the rest of the team had found places around them. It made sense. Everyone in this room was all any of them had. Best to enjoy it while they could.


	4. Zeo Crystals

Master Vile showed up and turned them into children using the Orb of Doom. For a few hours, the six of them forgot they were Power Rangers and weren't even teenagers. Zordon brought them to a basement section of the now destroyed Command Center. It was frightening and Emma was terrified of the idea of having to travel through time to get some sort of crystal so she could be a teenage super hero again.

But it was either time travel or group home. And Emma would rather have pimples and super powers. So Emma stepped through the portal right after Lily. 

The sun was bright on the beach she landed on. The sand was warm under her hands and the ocean was sparkling. There was a boat harbor in the distance. She stood and looked around, wondering where her Zeo Gem might be hiding. Zordon said it wouldn’t be too hard to find. 

“Emma!”

She whirled around and saw a man jogging up to her. He had long hair that hung to his ears and a big smile. He didn’t feel at all dangerous, so she dusted off her hands and knees while he caught up to her. He knelt, and his brown eyes looked so happy to see her. In one of his hands was a pale yellow crystal, barely sticking out of his fist. “This belongs to you now.” Her frowned. “Again.” He shook his head and opened his hand. “Good luck. I know you can do it.”

She picked up the crystal and could feel it warm in her hand. “Thank you.”

“Oh, hey, remember this date, will you?” He told her, which was almost twenty five years in the future. “You’ll need to tell me to meet you here.”

She nodded once. “I will.” She seared the date in her mind. She would never forget. And then the light grew too bright and she was falling through another portal back to Zordon.  
+  
Lily landed in a cave. She looked around, the only source of light coming from a hole high above. There was a long glass dome in front of her, and she headed for it, figuring her crystal was within. But then something big breathed and moved behind her. She froze. Zordon had said they were super heroes, but she was a kid and not ready for a fight. The thing behind her nudged her, seeming to take a deep breath of her.

The noise the beast made sounded painful. Lily swallowed and turned around.

A huge dragon, with such sad green eyes, looked down at her. Well, since Lily wasn’t dragon food… “I’m here for my Zeo Crystal. It’s white, and powerful. Maybe. I need it to save the world from Master Vile and Rita and Zedd.”

The dragon took a deep breath and sighed. It turned and wandered off, and Lily thought she would have to search the dark cave alone. She looked around for something she could use as a walking stick so she could sweep it ahead of her, so she wouldn’t trip or fall. But then she heard the dragon coming back. 

In it’s mouth, held between sharp teeth, was her crystal. It gently placed the crystal in her hands. Lily hugged the warm, scaly head. “Thank you!” It’s rumble sounded pleased. She stepped back and looked around. “Are you trapped here? You have wings, I don’t think you’re a cave dragon. When I’m big again, I can come let you out?”

The dragon looked up at the hole above them, but shook it’s head. Before Lily could say anything more, she was falling through the portal back to Zordon.  
~  
Returned to their teenage bodies and with their proper memories, the six Power Rangers stood under their glowing Zeo Crystals as Zordon spoke of their new powers. 

“With these crystals, nothing will ever be able to erase your memories or change your age ever again. Master Vile’s Orb of Doom, and any other like it, will be unable to affect you. Claim your new powers, Rangers, and continue the fight for Earth once more.”

As their hands closed around their crystals, the new powers filled them and strengthened them. And when the Zeo powers flowed into the pasts and futures of the six Rangers, Fate was changed in ways not even Zordon imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I changed the effects of the Zeo Powers. Yes, you can probably figure out why. Yes, those are the people you think they are.


	5. Neal

Emma loved her teammates. She did. They fought for each other, rescued each other, and supported each other. They did the school work Zordon assigned together, learned how to cook together, and learned how to fight from Zordon’s holograms. They pranked and went to movies. 

They defeated enemies large and small.

But sometimes…Sometimes Emma wanted away from them. They all lived the same life to a point, and sometimes she wanted something new. She knew it was the same for Lily and Zack and Jackie; they sometimes went to malls and parks and beaches alone. 

Which is how (and why) Emma started dating Neal. He was nineteen to her seventeen, but he was kind. Sure, they got into mischief, and maybe Zordon had to lecture her when she came home, but no one stopped her from spending time with him. He was everything her team wasn’t. He had nothing to do with being a Power Ranger, with fighting a war for Earth. He was just a guy who wanted to live in the now and not worry all that much about tomorrow or next week or next year. It was…a relief. He was easy. He made her happy.

Of course Mondo found out. Of course Cogs surrounded them one night. Of course she had to morph, had to fight, had to reveal her secret identity. Neal was safe after, had even managed to take out a handful of Cogs himself. And after the fight, Emma waited for his reaction, waited for him to walk away. Instead, he bundled her in his arms and held her tight. He called her brave and crazy and amazing.

And maybe Emma fell in love, just a little.

Neal didn’t become involved. He continued to be her good time away from the war. They still got into stupid shit and she still picked up a few “bad” habits. He was kind and understanding and everything her teammates weren’t.

Then Divatox arrived.  
~  
Lily tucked the blanket higher up on Emma and carefully left the bed. Jackie lifted her head, but Lily waved her off. Jackie settled back down against Emma’s back, holding her close. Lily put on her jacket and left the room. She went up to the war room and didn’t even have to say a word to Zordon or Alpha. She was teleported to Neal a moment later.

He startled and stood, leaving his beer bottle in the sand. “Lily, right?”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t matter.” She shoved her hands in her pockets to keep her from touching him. Grabbing, punching, pushing into the water. “I get it, why you want out. Getting your mind scrabbled by a lava monster is no one’s idea of awesome. I got to be Rita’s evil puppet for two weeks. Hell, Emma’s been worried about about this kinda shit since the second date.”

“But?”

“You stay gone.” Lily took a step towards him and was pleased with Emma’s choice in a guy when he didn’t take a step back. “You see her again, you walk away. You don’t look for her after the war, you don’t try to find her five, ten, twenty years from now. I don’t care if she’s putting her hands in cement in Hollywood from a walker. You want out, you stay out.” Because it’d been a week and they were still holding Emma as she cried herself to sleep. Because if he couldn’t deal with the worst of the war, he didn’t deserve the spoils.

He sighed and looked down. “Yeah.”

“Zordon put a protection on you. Divatox can’t grab you again, no one in the future will try to use you against Emma. But you leave L.A., you leave the West Coast. And in a week, that protection will stop any of us from finding you.”

“I’ll head east tomorrow.”

“Good. Cause if you hurt Emma again, I break every bone in your body, have Zordon heal you, and then do it a few more times.”

He nodded. Satisfied, Lily teleported back to the Power Chamber. She found Zack in the kitchen and wasn’t surprised he was making chocolate chip and banana pancakes. She pulled out cake mix and he handed her the eggs. All the junk food in the world wouldn’t make Emma happy again, but nothing tasted better than chocolate.  
~  
Emma sat on the bio bed, silent and still. The guys had left an hour ago. Lily was still sitting behind her, their backs leaning against each other. Jackie sat on the floor against her legs. The only movement, only sound, came from their breathing. Emma was numb to the point she couldn’t even hear her heart pounding in her ears anymore.

Pregnant.

She and Neal had never been so stupid as to have unprotected sex. Sure, sex, but nothing without… Well, it didn’t matter. Something had happened along the way. And since neither her powers nor her body had given anything away for six weeks, there was no stopping this. Her powers were now bound to the beginning of life inside her. The powers would protect it as they did her. 

And for the next seven and half months, she was benched. No fighting. Knocking the team down one member because the Zeo powers were bound to time and soul. There was no finding a temporary replacement. Billy was already working on giving her remote control of her Zord. And she could leave the Power Chamber, but not alone.

All the while, the baby’s father was forever out of their reach. Not even Zordon could find Neal now, a precaution against torture or infiltration. So Emma cried. Because for all she wanted something that didn’t relate to the war or her friends, this was not it.  
~  
It wasn’t an easy choice to make. It wasn’t a choice she wanted to make. But after being kidnapped by Divatox, after hearing the plans the space pirate had for Emma’s unborn child, it was the best choice. She had to make sure her baby would be safe at all costs.

So after he was weaned, after she had discussed it over and over again with her other orphan teammates, after risking him outside once only to have to retreat after five minutes, Emma did what had been done to the six of them.

She gave her son, one she never figured out a name for, up for adoption. Zordon made sure no enemy of theirs would ever find him, made sure he would find the best home. Zordon promised no harm would come to him, that he found a forever home. 

Zordon did not, and would never, tell Emma the depth of his work. He could not identify the magic within Emma or Lily. It was sparse, weak, but there. He did not know what set them apart. All he knew was there was a similar feel in Maine, and he could not see past the barrier. And if he could not, no enemy of his could. Yes, it would be the safest place for the boy….


	6. Lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last of the Power Ranger chapters.

Jackie always said the war would get worse before they won. Emma had no idea what could be worse than an ooze man almost (actually) killing their mentor, being turned into children, or having to give up her kid. But then Dark Specter came out of the shadows from where he’d been orchestrating an Alliance of Evil. He led an attack against Eltar, Zordon’s home world and the headquarters for the Ranger Corps in the Milky Way Galaxy. 

“I must leave to help in the defense of Eltar,” Zordon told them late one afternoon. “I will tie some of my energy to this Power Chamber so you remain safe while defending against Divatox.”

They bid him and Alpha farewell and good luck. The moment the two disappeared, Jackie started laying down rules. “We don’t go out alone. If any of us do leave, someone has to be up here monitoring them in case of an attack.” 

The protections guarding the Power Chamber lasted for a month. The news was broadcasted to all Ranger Corps outposts. Eltar had fallen. Dark Specter was one step closer to winning the war. 

Emma wasn’t the only one looking at Jackie for answers. So far, the other teenager had led them well. But Emma had no idea how they were going to win when even the best Power Rangers couldn’t. They were eighteen. They didn’t have a mentor, and who knew how much longer they would have a base.

Jackie pointed at Zack and Lily. “Take the debit cards in your names, go raid an Army surplus store for MREs. Grab waterproof gear, too. Anyone asks, your going on a Rocky Mountain camping trip after graduation. Take any recommendations for gear.” They nodded and took off. “Billy, we still have the Zeo Crystal. Can you take it to the back-up house and set up a smaller shield?” There was a house in L.A. set up for them if they needed to be seen entering a residence. Zordon tried to get them to behave, but he was no super virtuous being. Sometimes the teens got escorted home.

“I’ll get to work on something,” Billy said before heading down to the basement. 

“Jason, get all the official documents Zordon made for us. I.D.’s, birth certificates, bank statements, home school proof, all of it. Make sure all our files are up to date and that we have no surprise visitors expected at the houses.” Zordon had made sure they would be able to go back out into the world with evidence to fall back on. They couldn’t just appear after being absent for years. He updated records, created holograms in various safe houses to appease social workers, and made sure they also kept up with things that would affect their future.

“Emma, we’re staying here until we can’t. If we can’t teleport directly to the safe house, we’re gonna need the most direct route. Map it out on a tablet and paper. Figure out how many days, how much water we’ll need to cross the desert, and how much food. Distribute the gear evenly. Text anything we need to Zack and Lily. We’ll take the Turbo Zords and pray the holograms work full time.”

“How long do you think we have?” Emma asked as she called up a map of the Mohave on a tablet.

“Two days, maybe. Divatox might celebrate for a bit before making sure we aren’t a threat.” She started to tap at the control consoles. “I’m shutting down everything we don’t need and wiping the systems. If Billy can’t figure out a shield, we’ll be living out of the Zords.”

Emma tried not let the fear shake her hands. This was bad. They were losing. Hopefully, they wouldn’t lose Earth.

~

Earth was lost.

They fought Divatox for months. The Power Chamber had been destroyed. Their safe house had stood. They all turned nineteen one by one. But Billy ran scared after seeing his internal organs pour out of him until Emma could get him in the healing pod. Zack held strong until Astronema arrived to deal with them once and for all. They weren’t sure what happened to Divatox, but they didn’t want to know, either.

Astronema focused her attacks on Angel Grove, where the greatest well of Power sat under the city. Astronema’s attack fleet almost beat them. If not for the arrival of a roving Ranger team that had lost their planet, everything would’ve been lost. But Zack couldn’t handle it. He left in the night, same as Billy.

Jason tried. He tried so hard. But the roving team left, and Astronema decided on a full invasion a month later. Angel Grove was overrun. He couldn’t see them freeing everyone, fighting off thousands of Quantrons, and defeating Dark Specter’s second in command. He managed to wrangle as many military and law enforcement bodies he could and led a charge out of the city, saving hundreds of lives. But he never came back.

Emma, Lily, and Jackie huddled in the back of Emma’s Dune Star. Without the unity of a full team, the safe house shield failed. They each had small shards of their crystals in their possession, but the shattering of the team shattered the Zeo Crystal. It had disappeared back through time. 

They had spent the day freeing people from Quantrons. They would rest for a few hours before heading out again and hoping there was no monster they had to stop. Half the city was already destroyed due to rampaging giants.

“We can’t keep this up,” Lily muttered.

“We can’t run away,” Emma argued.

“I’m not saying that. But we gotta do more than this.”

They didn’t look at Jackie. They knew Jackie was running out of ideas. They knew she was just as scared and exhausted. 

Lily tilted her head. “Remember that Buffy episode? With the rocket launcher?”

Emma’s eyes narrowed. “We’re gonna need a bigger rocket launcher.”

“Human weapons won’t work,” Jackie muttered from where she was curled up. She grabbed her tablet and set it up so they could all see it. “If I tell you this, you sleep. We’re useless without sleep.”

Lily saluted. “Yes, fearless leader.”

Jackie blew a raspberry before opening a locked file. “Studied the energy coming off the Dark Fortress. It pulses. There’s a weak moment every sixteen hours, right where it shifts realities. We can get onto the Dark Fortress.”

Emma shifted so Lily could lean towards the center. “So Independence Day, not Buffy.”

“If we can get to their communication array, yes. I have no idea where that would be. I have no idea if we’d get five feet from the entry point.”

“So we take a big bomb with us,” Lily said. “We can use parts from the other Zords. We connect it to our powers and life forces. If we lose, they lose.”

Emma really, really, did NOT want to die. But she didn’t say it, because none of them wanted to die. “Could we use Quantron armor like Storm Trooper armor?”

Jackie shook her head. “No, too much robotics in them. It’d take too long to dissemble and make a working suit. Plus they might go boom if tampered with.”

“When’s the next weak time?” Lily asked.

“At six fucking a.m. Now go to sleep.”

Lily grumbled but curled back up under her blanket. Emma leaned against her and did the same. Jackie tucked herself against Emma’s side and muttered about sleep deprivation being the death of her instead of monsters from space. Emma just held their hands tight. In the morning, they would either save the world or die.

~

This was not the way Emma wanted to save the world.

They managed to sneak onto the Dark Fortress. They managed to avoid setting off any alarms. They ran into no one and nothing. But instead of the communication array, they found Zordon. He was being drained of power and life, forced to watch out a window as Angel Grove was slowly destroyed, as he Rangers abandoned hope one by one. The planet he guarded would fall, the people he protected enslaved, and the heroes he choose would die.

“If you shatter my containment tube, the release of energy will destroy all our enemies and end the war.”

Jackie shook her head. “No! There has to be another way!”

“We can save you,” Emma insisted. “We did it before!”

“There is no time left,” Zordon told them. “Astronema will arrive soon. I cannot be disconnected from this machine. But you can save the galaxy.”

Lily watched Jackie’s spear shake in her hands. She heard Emma trying to come with a different way, a better way. Lily glanced out the window and saw another building crumble under the onslaught of a giant monster. While most of the residents were closer to the edge of the city, that building was a work place. There would be no life to return to, no work, no money, just more suffering. 

No more time, no other option. 

Lily had been evil, though it wasn’t her choice. She remembered relishing in power and the intent to kill. She remembered Rita’s praise, Goldar’s training. She remembered how much she didn’t care about anything. Jackie could kill Zordon, would do it when they failed to fight off Astronema. But Jackie never killed before. Lily remembered wanting to rip their lives out by their throats and hearts. 

She called upon that memory. The rage, the hate, and bloodlust. The undeniable desire to hear them scream as they died under her blade, wanting to feel their blood dry on her hands. 

Astronema entered the room.

Emma ran to attack.

Jackie hesitated over who to kill.

Lily destroyed Zordon.

~

The flash of white was peaceful, warm, and comforting. It felt like something familiar, something Emma couldn’t place, but it made her smile. It lasted all of two seconds. 

They were standing in the alley where their Zords had been parked. They could see the Dark Fortress crumble as the rising sun crested the mountains. Monsters turned to ash. Cheers started to go up around the city, echoing through the ruins.

Emma felt tears on her face and didn’t know why. At least, she didn’t know until she looked at Lily and Jackie. Their leader was in shock, pale and still. Lily was just glaring at the brick wall, hands in tight fists, knuckles white.

And that peace, that warmth, it made sense. Their safe landing here away from the destruction made sense.

“You killed him.”

Lily might have flinched, but Emma didn’t care. She grabbed her backpack and ran. They were supposed to save the world and each other. They weren’t supposed to kill. They were the heroes. Winning wasn’t supposed to feel like this. Winning wasn’t supposed to feel like she lost everything.

Emma ran. She wouldn’t stop running for years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week, Emma's in Storybrooke. Against her will and better judgement.


	7. Chapter 7

Emma, admittedly, didn’t run far at first. She needed supplies, at the very least, and some time to heal the bruises. She went to house set up for her social worker visits in L.A. and found the technology still in place, as well as her room. She spent the rest of the day and another night curled up and crying.

They saved the world.

It only cost the life of the man who made them more than orphans. 

Her stomach, empty and loud, got her up again at dawn. She set the parental holograms to make breakfast while she took the longest shower ever. Something in her chest hurt, ached in a way that wasn’t physical, overwhelming her to the point that she couldn’t even cry. This wasn’t what winning the war was supposed to feel like. This wasn’t how they were supposed to end. They had managed to keep their promises to each other for so long, through some of the worst evils thrown at them, only for them to run away from each other one by one. Even she ran, when she couldn't take it anymore.

Emma wanted to hate Lily. She wanted to hit her, wanted her to bleed. Wanted her to know all the fear Emma had felt the first time the Evil Green Ranger showed up. But… Lily's choice saved the world. Emma wouldn’t have won the fight against Astronema. Jackie finally froze up over what decision to make, which lives to chose. Lily did the one thing neither of them would’ve been capable of in time. Lily saved them, the world, the galaxy.

Emma still wanted to hate her for killing Zordon, even if he told them to do it. Blaming Lily was easier than facing the fact Emma did the useless thing.

She ate breakfast, not tasting any of it. She wondered how long the technology would run, how long until someone noticed the weirdness of the place, if it was different now that there were only the pretend homes and no Power Chamber to control them. She didn’t really care, she wasn’t planning on sticking around. She had no idea where she was going, she just needed to go.

She made sure she had all her documents. She packed a bag with enough clothes to last her a week, and another with food that would last if she hit a tough spot. There was cash in the wallets of the holographic parents, as well as her own bank card set up with automatic deposits from the faked parental accounts. She wasn’t going to be dependent on it for long, but Zordon always meant for them to have something to survive on. 

After reseting the system, she went into the garage and froze.

Neal’s car.

The yellow bug was covered in dust, and one of the tires looked like it needed changing, but that was it. Emma put her stuff down and walked around the car, ignoring the small car used for show beside it. Neal hadn’t crossed her mind in months, the baby she gave up nearly as pushed away. It was too hard to remember the times when the team was whole and safe and strong.

She opened the car and saw the keys in the ignition. There was no note, nothing in the glove compartment but paperwork that made the car hers. 

It took her a few long, silent minutes to work past the emotions raging through her. Neal left her. Said he couldn’t handle being around someone constantly in danger. Being a thief was one thing. A Power Ranger wasn’t something to walk away from after a close call. Neal had knocked her up and had no idea he had a kid, and Emma wondered if he’d even want one, or if the baby would’ve been enough reason for him to walk away. But this… It was just a car. Nothing profound happened here, there were no big revelations echoed in the seats. But it’d been their little slice of freedom. This was something their pasts had no hold on, wasn’t something marred by anything they ever did.

Emma changed the flat tire and put her bags in the trunk. Thinking would get her nowhere. But actually moving? Well, she could see where that led.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have two more quick chapters I'll put up tomorrow and Thursday before getting into Storybrooke. I would like a beta or idea bouncer, if any of you reading this are interested.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter to dip my toes back into this story and see if anyone's still reading it.

Emma shouldn’t’ve been surprised when Jackie showed up. Angel Gove was half a country behind and two years ago, and Emma ignored any news about the Power Rangers if she could avoid it. She didn’t look for her old teammates. She usually ignored the sensation that her mind's eye attributed to a massive grizzly, except when the warning was strong enough to make her avoid taking a short cut or go in a certain place. While she as willing to leave it all behind, it seemed the Bear wasn’t willing to leave her.

But Jackie found her, because if anyone was going to find any of them, it would be their team leader. The Red Ranger just wanted to catch up, make sure Emma was getting on okay, offered to help with anything, gave her a number to call. Emma didn’t ask about their teammates and Jackie didn’t share any news. It was a short, awkward visit. 

Emma found herself calling Jackie here and there after a few months. She didn’t have a chance to make friends on the move, and Jackie was easy to talk to. There were no expectations, no judgement. Emma could bitch about the state of motels in the dead center of America and Jackie just told her to check for bed mites. There was nothing about finding a permanent place, getting a real job, or any talk about the war.

Emma wondered if Jackie was doing the same wandering, but didn’t ask. It was a little obvious a few months later when Jackie found her again, this time with a handful of sparking candles and a small cake to celebrate Fourth of July. Jackie was actively texting Jason then, and said something about Billy picking the coldest places to live. Jackie was cycling through them, making sure her team was okay. Emma didn’t call her out on it, didn’t say they were just find without her hovering.

It took her another year to work up the courage to call Lily. Things would probably never be the same, but they could talk without saying anything hurtful. Talking to Billy and Zack was easiest, they never pretended to be anyone more then scared teenagers fighting a war. Jason was hard to call, too, given how much he played the big brother role only to abandon them. 

They were never again going to be the team that saved the world. But maybe, this time around, they could be friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm probably gonna write out most of season one before I post more of this. I don't want to write something now and then when I get to season four, learn I've written myself into a corner. Work is being done on this, but my mind comes up with new stories everyday, so focusing is kinda tough.


End file.
